Great post. You raise many good points; it's hard to know that our pocketbook is being hit because tariffs can often be invisible. One quibble I have is that it seems like you're comparing apples to oranges. You're saying that national security tariffs are expensive, but would the opposite side even dispute that claim? I don't think they would; instead, I'd imagine that they would accept that cost as a necessary trade-off worth making in order to protect national security. It seems like the question is whether national security tariffs actually protect national security, or if they more expensive than they are worth, or whether there are other ways of achieving the same goals.
I was reminded of this post when I saw this article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/14/briefing/semiconductor-bill-congress-biden.html
Great post. You raise many good points; it's hard to know that our pocketbook is being hit because tariffs can often be invisible. One quibble I have is that it seems like you're comparing apples to oranges. You're saying that national security tariffs are expensive, but would the opposite side even dispute that claim? I don't think they would; instead, I'd imagine that they would accept that cost as a necessary trade-off worth making in order to protect national security. It seems like the question is whether national security tariffs actually protect national security, or if they more expensive than they are worth, or whether there are other ways of achieving the same goals.